Beneful Dog Food Poisons, Kills Dogs Nationwide- Reported to be Fiction!

Beneful Dog Food Poisons, Kills Dogs Nationwide- Reported to be Fiction!

Summary of eRumor:  

Beneful dog food has killed and poisoned dogs nationwide.

The Truth:

Reports that Beneful dog food has killed or poisoned dogs across the country have been around for years, but there’s no concrete evidence to back up that claim.

The first reports surfaced in 2007 on a forum hosted by the website DoggyBling.com. The website is no longer active. A number of readers reported that their dogs became ill or died after eating Beneful dog food that was tainted with toxic mold. A Florida woman said her Dalmatian mix experienced glazed eyes, white gums, muscle weakness and constipation after eating Beneful, but the dog later recovered. Another woman reported that her dog experienced similar symptoms and died within days of eating Beneful dog food.

Purina released a statement in 2007 that said it launched an investigation after reports that two dogs had died after eating Beneful dry dog food. The company said it had found that “the two dogs’ unfortunate deaths were unrelated to our product.” The statement continues:

“Importantly, one of the Huntsville, Texas, consumers also requested product testing through her veterinarian. The veterinarian submitted a sample of product to the Texas Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory for aflatoxin analysis. We received confirmation from the consumer’s veterinarian late Monday, Feb. 5, that the results for aflatoxin were negative. 

“Additionally, we have conducted physical inspections and analytical testing, all of which confirm that our Beneful dry dog food products are safe, and meet all quality assurance specifications. Purina initiated the testing, which was conducted by an independent third party analytical laboratory, as part of its investigation related to the two Huntsville consumer contacts. As soon as we could contact the consumers to verify product code and packaging information, we secured finished product from our factories with the same production run and date code as the products in question and submitted the samples for testing. We received test results for the samples late Monday, Feb. 5, and the results confirmed the safety and quality of the products made at our factories. More specifically, the samples showed no presence of aflatoxin.”

Aflatoxins are toxic metabolites that are produced by specific types of fungi that can grow in animal feed. They’ve been linked to various diseases in domestic animals, livestock and humans around the world, Cornell University reports.

The eRumor resurfaced in 2013 when more dog owners reported that their pets became sick or died after eating Beneful dog food. An Examiner.com contributor posted an article under the headline, “Is Purina’s Beneful dog food killing dogs nationwide; no recall issued by FDA” that fueled speculation. The article reads:

“Other owners said that overtime the dog became sicker. Some people just switched to Beneful for the first time because it is a softer kibble and noticed an immediate problem. Either way, one common thread in the reports was the anguish for having bought this food that injured or killed their beloved pets.

“Veterinarians have reported bacterial infections, liver and kidney failure and high toxins in pets that have been brought in related to Beneful dog food illnesses.”

The article doesn’t name the veterinarians that supposedly found bacterial infections and liver and kidney failure in dogs that ate Beneful dog food. And a common theme begins to develop with this eRumor: scattered accounts from individual dog owners being used to back up the claim that Beneful dog food kills dogs, even though there’s no scientific evidence to support it.

Concern among consumers in 2013 led the FDA to launch an investigation into a high-profile case from Pittsburgh. The case involved a 2-year-old English mastiff that had “died mysteriously, of symptoms that looked like poisoning, less than three weeks after she began eating Beneful,” local radio station WPXI reports:

“The FDA found that Mazey died of Addison’s disease, an autoimmune disorder in dogs that can shut down their kidneys.

“Investigators blame her death on the disease, not on the Beneful dog food. I spoke to Carissa and Scott Dority, Mazey’s owners, about the findings.

“It’s a very hard pill to swallow. I was convinced it couldn’t have been anything other than the dog food,” said Scott Dority of Cortland, Oh.

“The tests also found no evidence of aflatoxin poisoning that can come from moldy grains.

“It’s nice having some closure, knowing exactly what happened and why,” said Scott Dority.

Purina also released a statement that said, “There are no safety or quality issues with Beneful. It’s a high quality, nutritious product that millions of dogs enjoy every day.”